Council Meets in Chicago

Alumni "Senate" Takes Action on Public Relations and Policies Governing Fund-Raising Campaigns

PUBLIC RELATIONS PLANS of the College and fund-raising policies covering all campaigns seeking alumni support were among the principal subjects discussed at the annual mid-winter meeting of the Dartmouth Alumni Council in Chicago January 24-25. President Dickey's appearance before the Council to discuss varied problems of the College was also a feature of this first meeting of the group held outside the East since the 1928 PowWow in Chicago. Edwin R. Keeler 'll of Chicago presided at the two-day session at the University Club, where reports of all Council committees were presented and discussed by the group representing the alumni body in Dartmouth affairs.

On the question of Dartmouth's public relations the Alumni Council voted to establish an advisory committee of alumni to work with a new Public Relations Council to be formed among officers of the College most concerned with publicity and all other aspects of public relations. The group will make a joint attack, with active assistance from the alumni advisory members, "on plans for relationships between the College and its various "publics," including the alumni, undergraduates, Hanover and nearby communities, families of students, prospective students and their parents, secondary schools, friends of the College, and the general public. The Chicago discussion emphasized that Dartmouth has built a strong program of alumni relations in which many associations with other groups—such as parents, applicants, schools—have largely developed through the efforts of individuals and groups among the alumni. Among activities of the Public Relations Council will be a survey of whether Dartmouth is getting enough attention in the public press, especially on its educational program. Part of the Council's effort will also be to coordinate existing agencies on the campus that are dealing with Dartmouth's several publics, and the participation of alumni members will give the Public Relations Council an effective form of organization in the new and enlarged program.

PRESIDENT GIVES OFF-THE-RECORD TALK

President Dickey met with the Alumni Council in Chicago to discuss Dartmouth's problems and policies in off-the-record fashion. In his remarks to the Council the President included emphasis on the importance of a thoroughly planned program of public relations, with specific objectives established in line with educational policies and achievements of the College. He mentioned Baker Library as only one of Dartmouth's great assets which should be more widely known by the public. The President also described plans for the course in "Great Issues" which will be required of all seniors beginning next fall, and said: "Last year it was an idea, and now the course is in the stage of active planning." President Dickey will serve next year as acting director of the course which is now being planned by a committee representing the three faculty divisions of the Humanities, Sciences, and Social Sciences, with John M. Clark '32 as executive secretary of the group. Expressions of support recorded at earlier meetings of the Alumni Council were given to the President for the current program of developing and maintaining the strongest possible faculty of the College.

Windsor C. Batchelder '19 reported as chairman of a special committee to survey all Dartmouth fund-raising activities and to coordinate these with present and future needs of the College. Other members of the important committee to study all projects seeking the support of Dartmouth men were: Roswell Magill '16, Karl W. Koeniger '17, Richard A. Holton '18, Harvey P. Hood '18, John W. Hubbell '21, and Sidney C. Hayward '26. Mr. Batchelder reported endorsement by his committee of the long-time policy that the dependence of the College upon alumni support is of such importance that preservation of alumni good will and strengthening of the attitudes of Dartmouth alumni toward the College are requirements of any future fund-raising policies. The report continued: "Although we do not start with the idea that everything is right or wrong, we know there have been minor irritations, the causes of which should be removed, and we recognize that the College faces increasing needs for funds in the years ahead and that the alumni must be relied upon very largely to meet these pressing needs."

The committee was impressed by the "multiple appeals that exist at the present time" in which one Dartmouth man may be solicited for many different causes closely related to the College. The principal recommendation from the fund-raising survey is the establishment of a new committee of the Alumni Council with authority to approve or withhold approval for projects soliciting alumni support. The complete recommendations, which were adopted by vote of the Council, follow:

1. Establishment of a standing committee of the Alumni Council with authority to approve or to withhold approval for all fundraising projects.

2. All groups or individuals sponsoring plans for fund-raising activities, now or in the future, shall submit their complete plans to the Alumni Council policy committee on fund-raising for approval before going ahead with the campaigns. (It is not the intent here to request filing of plans, or to require approval, for regular existing projects such as class or alumni club dues collections, which are traditional and accepted procedures.)

3. The recommendations of the Koeniger Committee submitted to the Alumni Council in January, 1946, and approved by the Council and by the Board of Trustees, are endorsed by this committee as a summary of desirable policies in current Dartmouth fund-raising activities.

4. Agreeing that the first six months of the calendar year should be kept entirely free for the Alumni Fund campaign, the committee also recommends that the fall months be kept free of conflict for the classes from 20-25 Years out of college which are concentrating intensively on campaigns for their Class Memorial Funds, to be presented to the College as 25th Reunion Gifts.

5. Needs of the College should be reviewed annually by the proposed new Council committee in conference with the President and other officers of the College to determine both immediate and long-range objectives for fundraising projects seeking alumni support.

6. Information about the fund-raising policies of the Alumni Council, and the existence and authority of the proposed new committee to review campaign plans, should be widely publicized among alumni with emphasis on repeatedly informing groups and individuals most concerned with fund raising about overall policies.

Chairmen of committees which reported at the Chicago meetings were Eugene Hotchkiss '22, Admissions and Schools; H. Clifford Bean '16 (report given by Arthur S. Dunning 'n in Mr. Bean's absence), Dartmouth Vocational Committee; Hugh A. Johnson '30, Class Organization; Richard W. Brown '29, Alumni Clubs; Roswell F. Magill '16, Bequest Committee; Windsor C. Batchelder '19, Class Memorial Funds; Karl W. Koeniger '17, Class Reunions; Richard A. Hoi ton '18, 1947 Alumni Fund Campaign; and Parker Trowbridge '13, Parents' Committee. William H. McCarter '.19 spoke for the Dartmouth Athletic Council. John W. Hubbell '21, national chairman of the Hopkins Center campaign committee, was not able to be present but sent a report to the Council on progress of plans for securing support for the new auditorium and social building from non-Dartmouth sources.

Attendance of present and past members of the Council follows:

PRESENT MEMBERS: Francis A. Robinson 'O8, Des Moines; Andrew J. Scarlett '10, Hanover; Edwin R. Keeler '11, Chicago; Arthur S. Dunning '11, St. Paul; Parker Trowbridge '13, Worcester; John G. Nelson '13, Manchester, N. H.; Frederick L. Pearce '15, Washington, D. C.; Roswell F. Magill '16, New York City; Karl W. Koeniger '17, Newark, N. J. Richard A. Holton '18, Brooklyn; Windsor C. Batchelder '19, New York City; Roscoe O. Elliott 'so, Boston; Eugene Hotchkiss '22, Chicago; Edouard J. Petrequin '25, Cleveland; Albert E. M. Louer '26, Chicago; Sidney C. Hayward '26, Hanover; Joshua A. Davis '27, New York City: James W. Hodson '29, Seattle; Richard W. Brown '29, Detroit; Hugh A. Johnson '30, Buffalo; William H. Marsh Jr. '31, Atlanta; C. Boyd Rogers '35, St. Louis; Frank T. Frey '38, Milwaukee.

FORMER MEMBERS: Arba J. Irvin '02, Chicago; Louis E. Leverone '04, Chicago; Henry D. Thrall '06, Minneapolis; William D Knight 'OB, Rockford, Ill.; Whitney H. Eastman '10, Minneapolis; Horace G. Hedges '11, Cedar Rapids; Henry E. Atwood '13, Minneapolis; Thomas D. Cunningham '13, Denver; J. William Ernbree Jr. '21, Chicago; John E. Foster '23, New York City; Lloyd K. Neidlinger '23, Hanover; Ford H. Whelden '25, Detroit; William R. Abbott Jr. '27, Chicago; Thomas B. Curtis '32, St. Louis.

PARTICIPANTS IN THE ALUMNI COUNCIL MEETINGS AT CHICAGO. Left, President Dickey and Council President Edwin R. Keeler 'll of Chicago at the University Club luncheon which opened the two-day gathering on January 24. Right, Council members and ex-members who traveled the greatest distances to attend the ses- sions included, left to right, James W. Hodson '29 of Seattle, Past President Thomas D. Cunningham 'l3 of Denver, William H. Marsh Jr. '3l of Atlanta, and Roscoe O. Elliott '2O of Boston. The meetings were the Council's first in Chicago since the famous Dartmouth Pow-Wow of 1928.

ANOTHER ALUMNI COUNCIL LUNCHEON GROUP included, left to right, Dean Lloyd K. Neidlinger '23 and J. William Embree '2l of Chicago, both former members of the Council, and Sidney C. Hayward '26, Secretary of the College and of the Council. Mr. Embree, as president of the Chicago Alumni Association, presided at the January 24 dinner at which President Dickey addressed 300 Chicago alumni and wives.

OLDEST AND YOUNGEST CLASS REPRESENTATIVES at the Alumni Council meeting in Chicago were Henry H. Hilton '9O of Chicago, Alumni Trustee of the College, 1905-15, and Frank T. Frey '3B of Milwaukee.